NEWS RELEASES

The Cotton Bowl Foundation today announced $200,000 in grants to support Mercy Street, Café Momentum, Dallas Independent School District’s Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy and the Top-20 elementary schools/programs that participated in the 20th anniversary of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Art Contest. 

The Cotton Bowl Foundation’s mission is to serve the communities associated with the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic by supporting programs that improve opportunities for underserved youth.

The College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation and the Cotton Bowl Foundation today announced $100,000 in grants to Dallas Independent School District’s Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy.  The Cotton Bowl Foundation will donate $50,000, with the College Football Playoff Foundation matching that dollar figure.

The Cotton Bowl Foundation’s gift ensures that all students at the school will have the opportunity to visit a college campus prior to graduating high school.

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic announced today that Grammy-nominated Texas-country artist Pat Green will perform postgame as part of the Goodyear Huddle Up Fan Fest on January 2nd, 2017.

“The Party on the Plaza with Pat Green” is free with a Goodyear Cotton Bowl game ticket and will take place on the main stage in the Miller Lite Plaza (West Plaza) at AT&T Stadium. The show begins 20 minutes after the conclusion of the 81st Classic.

“When you think of Texas-country, you think of Pat Green, “ Rick Baker, President/CEO of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic said.

We are grateful to be part of our first ever North Texas Giving Day on Thursday, September 22. Your generous support during this one-day event offers friends like you a chance to give make a meaningful difference through the Cotton Bowl Foundation.

The Cotton Bowl Foundation aims to serve the communities associated with the Cotton Bowl Classic by supporting:

• Programs that improve opportunities for underserved youth in North Texas;
• Programs that benefit completing team’s community;
• Organizations with a legacy of contributing to the Cotton Bowl’s success; and
• Specific, timely needs that present a unique opportunity for CBF to demonstrate community leadership and responsiveness (EX: natural disasters).

The 20th Annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Art Contest has begun and is now accepting entries from local young artists. All North Texas students in first through sixth grade are invited to participate. Art contest materials, including the illustration template, can be downloaded online at www.cottonbowl.com/art-contest. The deadline to mail in the illustrations is Friday, November 4th. The winners are determined by a select group of judges and notified by the end of November.

“For 20 years now we have enjoyed engaging with the younger sports fans in the Metroplex through our art contest,” Goodyear Cotton Bowl President Rick Baker said, “We hope that art teachers from across the North Texas community will encourage their students to participate.

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic is moving to Saturday beginning with the 2017 season.

The College Football Playoff announced today that the Classic will be played on three consecutive Saturdays starting on December 30, 2017, December 29, 2018, and December 28, 2019. The game in 2018 is a Playoff Semifinal. Game times will be announced at a later date.

“This is wonderful news for our game,” said Jay McAuley, Chairman of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. “Saturdays are tradition.

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic held its 7th annual youth football clinic on July 20th, as 350 kids from North Texas gathered at AT&T Stadium to learn offensive and defensive fundamentals from area high school and college coaches.

Special guests included the voice of the Dallas Cowboys and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Brad Sham, former No. 1 NFL draft pick and three-time Super Bowl Champion, and Cotton Bowl MVP Russell Maryland, as well as Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr.

All three spoke to the kids after camp activities ended.

ESPN announced today the 81st Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic will kick off at noon (CT) on Monday, January 2nd, 2017. The Classic will be the lead-in to the Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual followed by the Allstate Sugar Bowl. 

The traditional New Year’s bowl games were moved to Monday, Jan. 2 to accommodate the NFL schedule slated for Sunday, Jan. 1st. This will mark the 13th time in the Classic’s history the game has been played on Jan. 2nd and the first since Ole Miss defeated Oklahoma State in 2010 in the Cotton Bowl’s first game at AT&T Stadium.

Six individuals who helped shape the tradition of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and college football history were inducted today into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame during enshrinement ceremonies at AT&T Stadium.

The honorees in the tenth Hall of Fame Class included former Texas head coach Fred Akers, USC offensive tackle Tony Boselli, SMU tailback Eric Dickerson, Notre Dame linebacker Bob Golic, Arkansas quarterback Fred Marshall, and Cotton Bowl Athletic Association (CBAA) Team Selection Chairman, the late Dan Petty.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl ticket holders should have received their renewal packets for the upcoming 2017 game. Plans are well under way for our 81st Classic. Please mark your calendar for Monday, January 2, 2017. Kickoff is tentatively scheduled for noon.

If you have not received renewal information, please contact our ticket office at your earliest convenience at 817-892-BOWL or toll free 888-792-BOWL. It may be delayed, or we do not have current contact information. Please make sure your mailing and email address are current in our system so you don't miss any important communications.

North Texas businessman Jay McAuley has been elected to a two-year term as Chairman of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association (CBAA), the sponsoring agency of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

McAuley is the President of Texas Health Resources Foundation based in Arlington. His involvement with the CBAA dates back to 2006 as a member of the Board of Directors. He has served as Vice-Chairman on the Classic’s Executive Committee for the past five years.

McAuley becomes the CBAA’s 39th Chairman and succeeds Dan Novakov who will remain on the Executive Committee as the Immediate Past Chairman.

ESPN and the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association announced today that The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has entered a multiyear agreement renewing its title sponsorship of the Cotton Bowl, continuing the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

An official partner of the College Football Playoff since the inception of the new era, Goodyear continues to be one of the leading brands participating in college football. In addition to multimedia support across all ESPN platforms, the multiyear deal will highlight the Goodyear Blimp as the preferred aerial provider for College GameDay and key college football games on ESPN.

Alabama defensive back Cyrus Jones was present the McKnight Trophy as the defensive MVP of the 80th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic following the Crimson Tide's 38-0 victory over Michigan State.

In the third quarter, Jones recorded a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown which was the fifth longest in Cotton Bowl history. In the past 20 seasons, Jones is the only FBS player to record a punt return TD and an interception in a bowl game. The Crimson Tide senior also had 80 punt return yards, ranking Jones as the third player to do so in bowl history.

It took a quarter and a half for Alabama to score the game’s first points, but once it did, the Crimson Tide absolutely rolled to an all-around impressive 38-0 victory from the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the  Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in front of 82,812 fans, the fourth-largest crowd in Classic History.

Senior quarterback and offensive MVP Jake Coker was brilliant, going 25-for-30 through the air for 286 yards and two scores, while Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry added 75 yards and two TDs on the ground.